Who doesn’t love a good appetizer? To some, they’re even more satisfying than the main course — and they might as well, because these days they probably cost the same. But even so, if you can resist the siren call of hot, flavorful buffalo wings or crispy, cheesy potato skins, you are a much stronger person than we are. But not all appetizers are created equal: for every dish you order every time you see it on the menu, there are some you should pass over without a second thought. Case in point: the shrimp cocktail, which is way more expensive than it has any right to be, and an overpriced menu item everyone should avoid.
Shrimp cocktail was seen as the pinnacle of chic luxury in the 1970s, and even today it has a certain appeal. It’s the kind of appetizer that gets served in a neat sauce-filled goblet at fancy dinner parties, or the kind that a blowhard media executive might messily devour at a meeting where he fires a woman for turning 50, as seen in “The Substance”. But for such a ritzy dish, it’s awfully cheap for the restaurant to make. The sauce consists of five ingredients everybody has in their kitchen, and the price of shrimp has gone down enough that it’s sort of ridiculous to charge $30 for it, as some restaurants might.
You can make shrimp cocktail at home for cheap
If you really want to feel like a Pan Am flight attendant, you can always make shrimp cocktail at home. The sauce, as previously mentioned, consists of just five ingredients you probably already have in your fridge: lemon juice, ketchup, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. All you have to do is mix them together and, hey presto, you’re most of the way there.
As for the shrimp part of the shrimp cocktail, it’s a misconception that the shrimp is served raw. In actual fact, the shrimp is boiled and poached before being served. But it’s certainly not too difficult for any cook to do, and you might as well try to do it yourself before paying someone $30 to do it for you. If you’d really rather not deal with shrimp, you can go to someplace with a fishmonger, such as a Whole Foods, and ask them to devein the shrimp for you.
